"I don't think he ever will be Kobe" - Gary Payton says it's blasphemy to compare Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Kobe Bryant
"I don't think he ever will be Kobe" - Gary Payton says it's blasphemy to compare Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Kobe Bryant originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Lou Williams recently compared Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Kobe Bryant, saying the former's performances in his first two NBA Finals games remind him a lot of the Los Angeles Lakers legend.
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However, Gary Payton, who played with and against Bryant when he was at his peak, disagreed with Williams' take.
"Nowhere near Kobe, man. There's going to be one Kobe. That's it. It's only one Kobe. Don't y'all compare people to people, especially somebody like Kobe Bryant. Let Shai be Shai. I don't think he's Kobe yet. I don't think he ever will be Kobe. He's a great basketball player, but you guys slow down. It ain't going to be no Kobe," said Payton on Shannon Sharpe's "Nightcap" show.
Breaking Iverson's Finals scoring record
Gilgeous-Alexander has been on an absolute scoring tear in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. After averaging 29.7 points per game against the Denver Nuggets in the second round, he put up 31.4 points per game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals.
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But what caught Williams' eye was the Thunder guard scoring 38 and 34 points, respectively, in Games 1 and 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals. His total of 72 is the most points scored by any player ever in his first two championship games, surpassing Allen Iverson's 71 points in 2001.
Still, Payton doesn't think that's enough for Gilgeous-Alexander to be compared to Bryant.
"Kobe was a different beast. I'm just telling y'all. And we can compare Jordan and Kobe because Kobe tried to be like Jordan," the Hall of Famer added.
Related: "Yeah, they'll probably have to do something" - Bird says the NBA will be forced to move the 3-point line back if high volume continues
Kobe was Shai's favorite player
While Gilgeous-Alexander isn't trying to emulate Bryant to the point Bryant tried to emulate Michael Jordan, the Lakers legend holds a special place in his heart.
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"That's probably my favorite player of all time," Shai said during the media session between Games 1 and 2. "Never got the chance to meet him. His influence has gone through the roof because of the competitor and the basketball player that he was. Hopefully, I'm somewhere close to that as a basketball player one day."
During that same media session, Gilegous-Alexander's teammate Jalen Williams also talked about how hard the 2025 NBA MVP studied Bryant's game and tried to pick some parts of it and integrate them into his own.
"I feel like if you are really paying attention to basketball and watch the way he plays, there's a lot of similarities. It's cool that he can pick certain aspects of his game to mimic that a little bit and then add his own touch to it. That shows the player that he is, to be able to steal bits and pieces from his favorite players and be able to put it into a game and work on it. There's a lot of work behind the scenes that goes into him being able to do that," he revealed.
With how unstoppable Gilgeous-Alexander has looked in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, it's no wonder he's being compared to the legends of the game, especially at his position. Still, it might be too early to put him on Bryant's level.
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Individual dominance is there. Now it's time to rack up championships.
Related: "When a guy can pick up the ball with one hand... it's very difficult" - Phil Jackson explained why MJ would beat Kobe if they played one-on-one in their primes
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
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